If only our Senators, Representatives, and President could attend Peacebuilders Camp this summer! Though the debate in Congress centers around whether healthcare is a right or a commodity, we believe strongly that all humans deserve the right to medical care. And the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is clear that healthcare is a right for all. Article 25: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance.”

When Peacebuilders Camp studies this right, we don’t simply talk about bills in Congress or proposals in the media. We seek to figure out who gets left out of the right to healthcare in our country and in the world. And we strive to provide more access to healthcare for everyone. We hope you’ll join us in this work!

On Wednesday, our campers will be at the Ellenton Health Clinic near Moultrie, Georgia, learning about the American healthcare system and how difficult it is for migrant farm workers to access adequate care. We will play a game about healthcare advantages and disparities and we will restock a food pantry at the clinic (originally created by Peacebuilders campers in 2011) with a generous donation from Diaz Foods.

Here are some ways you can learn along with our campers and support the right to healthcare for all:

Support the Ellenton Health Clinic, one of the few clinics in south Georgia that serve the people who pick the fruits and vegetables we buy in grocery stores.

Read about the Farmworker Family Health Program at the Emory School of Nursing and the mobile clinic they provide each year, in partnership with the Ellenton Health Clinic.

Support farm workers by boycotting Publix, Kroger, and Wendy’s to push these companies to join the Fair Food Program (which already includes companies such as Walmart, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Burger King, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and many others).

Support or volunteer with one of the health organizations that are close to our counselors’ hearts:

If political advocacy is your passion, call your Senators to oppose the tactic that Senator McConnell is using to garner votes for the Senate healthcare plan – trading budget earmarks for support of the bill.